Why You’ll Never Want to Use a Magic Eraser to Scrub Your Pans Again
FavorFlav’s Sharon was absolutely thrilled with the magic eraser. This sponge removed the stubborn residue in her new frying pan in no time. But now it turns out that she shouldn’t have done that. The sponge contains a substance that is harmful to your health.
Say what?! Should we be worried? I looked into it.
Harmful substance: melamine
The magic eraser is a nickname for the melamine sponge. Melamine is the substance used in this sponge. It’s also what makes stubborn stains disappear so easily. Melamine penetrates the pores of all kinds of surfaces, meaning you don’t need any other cleaning product. Wetting the sponge is enough to make it effective. But here’s the thing: melamine is a toxic substance that must not come into contact with food.
Why melamine is so harmful
Melamine consists of, among other things, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. It’s a substance that can be harmful if you inhale or swallow it. Besides causing significant irritation to your eyes, skin and respiratory tract, it can also seriously damage your kidneys. The substance can build up there and severely disrupt kidney function. Because you can ingest the substance through your pan—if you cook something in it, the substance can stick to your food—it’s better not to clean your pan with a melamine sponge.
No more magic erasers at all?
So using a magic eraser to scrub your pans is not a good idea (and you’d better not do this with your dirty hot pan either). Should you throw the sponge straight in the bin? The important thing is to keep the sponge from coming into contact with food. You can use the magic eraser perfectly well on walls, floors and even the soles of your shoes (at last, a solution for those disgusting sneakers). Tip: put on gloves before you start scrubbing. And just to be safe, keep the sponge out of the reach of children and animals too. Better safe than sorry.
Read also:
- 5 kitchen ingredients that are also great for cleaning
- Cleaning your deep fryer: how to do it easily and quickly
- I bought the super-hyped ‘happy’ Scrub Daddy sponge and here’s what I think of it
Source: Healthy Food Near Me
